Improvement in weft-thread knitting-looms



2 Sheets-Sheet 1r L. E. SALISBURY. Weft-Thread Knitting-Loom.

No. 212,269. Patented Feb. 11,1879.

N PETERS, PnomLliunqflAPuak, WASHINGTON D C 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. E. SALISBURY. Weft-Thread Knitting-Loom.

Patented Feb. 11, 1879.

Witnesses.

N. PET ERS, PHOTO-LIT UNI ED STATES PA'rnr FFIG LEVI E. SALISBURY, OFPROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN WEFT-THREAD KNlTTlNG-LOOMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 212,269, dated February11, 1879; application filed January 12, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEVI E. SALISBURY, of the city and county ofProvidence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented certainImprovements in eft-Thread KnittingLooms, of which the following is aspecification:

My invention relates to weft-thread knittinglooms-that is to say,circular-knittin g machines in which, in addition to the loop-thread,

one or more threads are laid into the fabric analogous to the weft orfilling in a loom, and not composing any part of the stitch or loop.-The weft-thread is to be carried between the needles in such a mannerthat it will lie in front of some needles and behind others, and isthrown off with the loops. The interlacing of the weft-thread among theneedles, and the management of it until it becomes apart of the fabric,have heretofore been found to be a matter of difficulty. Attention hasbeen principally directed to a division or separation of the needles bythrowing some of them out of the line, or causing the tops to arrangethemselves in two lines at the point where the thread is introduced,thus making a path between the needles for the introduction of thethread, the needles being atterward brought together again into a singlerow or line, and the thread being governed from that point by wheelswhich conduct it to its proper position.

By means of my invention I dispense entirely with all devices forspringing or diverting the needles laterally out of their line, and alsowith all wheels used for controlling the weft-thread.

The rising and falling of the needles being controlled by cams, I causecertain needles to descend below their neighbors, leaving in the moreelevated position those only to which I desire to present the thread.These needles, taking the thread in the hooks, descend, and others riseto be supplied in the same way, in case more than one weft-thread is tobe used. Thus I divide or separate the needles verti- 'oally orlongitudinally instead of laterally, and by means of cams instead ofwheels.

Another feature of my invention, and already above referred to, relatesto the devices for conducting. the weft-thread to the rear of thoseneedles not having it in their hooks, or,

in other words, in corrugating the thread, and for controlling it afterbeing thus interlaced, and carrying it below the latches or beards ofthe needles preparatory to being thrown off with the loops.

The weft-thread, as it is carried down by the needles having possessionof it, is thrown behind the other needles by being drawn over inclinedsurfaces, hereinafter described, and situated between the needles. Thusthe Weft thread, or several weft-threads in succession, are laidbehindcertain needles and in front of others, producing the interlacingsought.

My invention further relates to an improved construction around or uponthe exterior sur face of the cylinder, whereby the grooves are formed inwhich the needles play.

In the accompanying two sheets of draw ings, Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of my in vention. Fig. 2 is a portion of the cam, show ing how someof the needles are dropped below others to introduce a filling-thread.Fig. 3 is another portion of the cam, continuous with Fig. 2 from leftto right, showing needles drawn down after having received thefilling-thread, and others lifted to receive their filling and afterwarddrawn down. Figs. 4. and 5 are vertical transverse sections of thecircular cams 2 and 3, respectively. Fig. 6 is another form of cams'toproduce the same effect on the rising and falling of the needles asFigs. 2 and 3. Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section of Fig.6. Fig.Sis two views of one form of slide and toe used in cams 2 and 3. Figs. 9and 10 are another form of slide and toe adapted to cams in Fig. 1.Figs. 11 and 12 are slides and toes used in cam 6. Figs. 13 and 14 aredevices or parts employed in constructing the channels or grooves forneedle-slides. Fig. 15 is a part of the cylinder, in vertical section,showing the parts making up my construction of the slidegrooves inposition. Fig. 16 is a hook set into the top of the cylinder in thespaces between the needles, being a device performing the double officeof throwing the fillin g-thread behind those needles which have nottaken it, and of afterward holding the filling-thread down while thelatches are carried above it. (It may constitute a part of Fig. 13.)Fig. 17 is a top view of a portion of the cylinder with the piecesmaking up the exterior construction-in position. v I

My improvements are applicable to the ordinary circular-knitting machinewith rotary cylinder, and, consequently, many parts of the machine needno description to understand my invention.

Taking the cylinder provided with the parallel longitudinal grooves forthe reciprocating needles, I insert in the top of such cylinder, in thespaces between the needles the hook h, Figs. 1 and 16. The point of thishook should be about flush with the backs of the needles, and of suchheight as to allow the needles to take the yarn above them.

The reciprocating movements of the needles are governed by the camssituated around the cylinder, acting in connection with the toes t,attached to the slides s of the needles, and in producing thereciprocations desired the conformation of both the cams and the toesmust be considered.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, I have shown an arrangement of cams and toes forthe purpose of operating the needles, as follows: first, one series ofalternate needles is depressed; next, and a little farther on, thesecond series is depressed, at the same time taking the fillingyarn;next, the first series go up to take their yarn and are again depressed,after which they all rise to the same height to take the loopingyarn,and the ordinary process of knitting follows.

The above operation supposes the use of two filling threads. If,however, only one filling-thread is used, the first series need not beraised again after their first depression until they rise with theothers preparatory to taking the knitting or looping thread. In suchcase one cam is dispensed with and space economized; but this change isnot necessary, the work being performed equally well without any changeof the cams, the single fillingthread being supplied to either series.

It is sufficiently plain, without further detail, that morefilling-threads can be employed by multiplying the cams and repeatingthe steps now shown.

Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show sections of upper and lower cams adapted,toneedles, one series of which has the long hooked or Tshaped toe, asshown in Figs. 8 and 9, while the other series has the short toe shownin Fig. 10.

The hooked toe rides on the outer irregular surface and the short toe onthe inner, the former striding over the interior elevations withoutbeing affected by them, and the latter passing within the outerelevations. The clotted lines indicate the cutting away of interiorportions.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the hooked toes are purposely drawn with squarecorners and the short toes with rounded corners, in order to easilytrace them with the eye.

Fig. 2 shows part of the series of hooked toes dropping lower than theshort toes, the latter continuing at the same relative elevationas.before,.sustained by the inner raised portion of the cam-face untilit comes their turn to descend, at the same time taking the filling-yarn.

Fig. 3 shows the hooked toes passing up over the outer elevation, whilethe short toes pass behind this raised portion of the camface withoutrising. This construction forms in effect two sets of cams, or twoirregular grooves or tracks, in which the two kinds of toes,respectively, move. Now, these two irregular grooves may be entirelyindependent, one above the other, no portions of them being coincident,in which case the toes are simply made to fit the grooves; or the trackof one may lie entirely within the track of the other, as seen in Fig.6, where the long toe l, Fig. 12, travels in the narrower, and the shorttoe m, Fig. 11, in the wider, groove.

It is obvious that I am not confined to feeding the filling to alternateneedles, but can adopt any order desired, whether for the purpose ofgiving different appearances to the surface of the fabric, or for anyother reason.

Having described the various alternating movements of the needles intaking the filling, it remains to be added that when the needles havingthe filling-thread are drawing it down over the sloping tops of thehooks h, the other needles should stand with their tops as high as thepoints of the hooks h, in which case the thread, on springing over thesepoints, cannot get in front of the last-mentioned needles. For example,in Fig. 6, the needles governed by the narrow groove g drop out of theway of the others, to enable the latter to take the thread, but stopbefore their tops are below the points of the hooks h, and run onhorizontally until they begin to rise to take the thread themselves.Those governed by the wide groove 9 descend low enough to draw thethread below the points of the hooks, and then rise sufficiently to. becovered in turn when the thread is drawn down by the others. The threadthen lies along in the hollows of the hooks h, and when the needles allrise to take the knitting-thread the weftthread is held down by thehooks, and is thus freed from the latches and laid along on top of theloops previously formed.

No latch-guard is required in this machine, as the loops need never bedrawn below-the latches while putting in the weft thread or threads, andwhen the latches do finally rise' above the loops, just prior tointroducing the knitting-thread, this latter thread is laid alongagainst the latches, and itself acts as a latchguard.

In my construction of the needle grooves or channels upon the exteriorof the cylinder, I

make the walls or divisions between the me v die-spaces by means of flatstrips S, of metal, set up longitudinally around the cylinder, andseparated by narrower strips S, which form the back of theneedle-channel. These pieces are bound to the face of the cylinder by ashoulder, d, thereon, making an acute angle with the face, whichshoulder looks with the wings W of the construction-pieces S S. Whenthese pieces are packed around the cylinder and the ring 1' is drivensnugly home, the pieces are dovetailed firmly to the cylinder.

When the needle-channels are made in this way, I extend the piece Sabove the top of the cylinder, and form the hook it from such extendedportion, which then becomes a substitute for the hook h, beforeexplained. The work of plowing out the needle-channels is a matter ofconsiderable nicety and mechanical skill, and involves much more labor,care, and skill than to construct the same in the manner here shown.

The surfaces on which the needles slide can be more easily made smoothand regular, any piece can be removed if damaged and replaced by a newone, and a cylinder can be changed to adapt it to coarser or finerneedles by substituting thicker or thinner metal.

The ring 1', if placed around the bottom of the cylinder instead of thetop, would be more convenient-1y removed, and I think it better for'thatreason to place it there.

My stop-motion consists of a flat wheel or rim,R, Fig. 1, around thebase of the cylinder, at right angles to it and turning with it.

The upper surface of the wheel is studded with a row of pins, 1. Outsidethe wheel R is a second wheel, R, ordinarily at rest, but capable ofrevolution. Outside the latter wheel a stud, u, is placed, which turnsin its socket, and mounted on this stud is a lever, Y, very nearlybalanced.

The yarn, in passing from the spool or bobbin to the needles, is made todraw over the outer 'end of the lever Y. A convenient arrangement is topass the yarn through a guide situated below the lever, then over theouter end of the lever, then down through a guide, and thence to theneedles. The tension thus produced holds the heavier arm of the leverabove the pins I. When the yarn breaks or runs out, the lever fallsbetween the pins in wheel R, and is carried around against the stud 'X,setting the wheel R in motion. This latter wheel operates suitabledisconnecting or shipping mechanism arranged to stop the machine. Thestop-motion above described is not here claimed.

What I claim, and ters Patent, is-

1. In a weft-thread knitting-loom, the combination, with thereciprocating needles, of mechanism, substantially as described, wherebythey are vertically divided for the introduction of the Weft or fillingthread. 7 2. In aweft-thread knitting-loom havinga rotating cylinder andreciprocating needles, and mechanism for vertically dividing the samefor the introduction of the weft or filling thread, the hook h,operating to assist in laying the weft thread or threads behind someneedles, to produce the interlacing or intertwining described, and alsoto hold down the weft thread or threads when the needles rise to takethe knitting-thread, and prevent theweftthread from being formed intoloops.

3. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the hooks h, theneedles, and operating mechanism, whereby said needles are reciprocatedand. vertically divided to take the filling thread or threads.

4. In combination with the needles, the cams g g, or their equivalents,operating to produce the vertical rcciprocations described of saidneedles, forthe introduction of the weft-thread, the combination beingand operating substantially as described.

5. The combination of the cams g and g, or their equivalents, theneedles operated by said cams, and the hooks h, all substantially asdescribed, and operating substantially in the manner and for the purposespecified.

desire to secure by Let- 6. The rotary cylinder of a knitting-machine orknitting-loom having the needle-channels constructed of the pieces S andS, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the hooks h, the cylinder needle-channelsconstructed of the pieces S and S, and the reciprocating needlesactuated by the cams bounding the grooves g and g, all substantially asdescribed, and for the purposes specified.

LEVI E. SALISBURY. Witnesses:

DANIEL W. FINK, O. LAPHAM.

